New GOP-backed gun control bill may have DIRE consequences for gun owners

2017-10-17

BY ALLEN WEST

There are times when you want to believe that something won’t happen — but sadly, it does.

Such is the case with the GOP. The people voted a GOP House and Senate majority into office, believing they would right the ship of state. Then, when these lawmakers said they needed a Republican president, they got one.

But it seems it wasn’t the one that they, the GOP establishment, wanted. And so we sit here, frustrated that the correction of Barack Obama’s fundamental transformation of America is stalled. Let me remind you that being a progressive has nothing to do with R or D — it has everything to do with how one sees the relationship between the individual and the institution of government. It’s all about one’s philosophy of governance. And, in our America we have three differing philosophies — progressive socialist, progressive and constitutional conservative. Yes, I know, there are also Libertarians, but I consider them a subset of constitutional conservatism.

Back to the subject at hand, it appears that the GOP has once again let us down by acquiescing to the whims and rantings of the progressive, socialist Left to erode our individual rights.

A new gun-control proposal in Congress that is being pitched as a bipartisan bump stock ban would actually ban all semi-automatic rifles in the United States, according to an analysis of the proposed bill. The legislation, which was drafted by Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican, never bans bump stocks by name. Instead, the proposal bans any person from possessing or making any part that could be used to increase the rate of fire in any semi-automatic rifle.

The lead co-sponsor on the gun control bill is Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and U.S. Marines veteran who completed four tours of duty in Iraq. “It shall be unlawful for any person … to manufacture, possess, or transfer any part or combination of parts that is designed to increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle,” the bill states.

At no point does the proposed legislation specify a base rate of fire against which any illegal increases would be judged, a potentially fatal flaw in the bill’s drafting. As a result, the proposal arguably institutes a federal ban on any and all parts that would allow the gun to fire at all, since the mere ability to fire a semi-automatic weapon by definition increases its rate of fire from zero.

It is unclear at this time whether Curbelo and Moulton intended to propose such an expansive ban on all semi-automatic rifles in the United States. Also unknown is why the authors of the proposal chose to target rates of fire across all weapons instead of specifically banning bump stocks themselves, which consist of a single grip and stock assembly that is designed to rock a rifle back and forth against an individual’s finger in order to increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle weapon.

I want to make myself absolutely clear: I don’t support the Curbelo-Moulton legislation. There’s an easy fix to all of this, and that’s to enable the regulation of bump stocks by just reversing what was approved by the Obama administration in 2010. This action could be done by the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms).

But what amazes me — okay, I’m no longer amazed by the reticence and abject weakness of the GOP — is that there’s no movement by the House and Senate GOP on national reciprocity, the Hearing Protection Act, eliminating the cosmetic accessory adjustment regulations on firearms (those that don’t alter the functionality of the weapon), and no reaffirmation of the Second Amendment as the law of the land.

What this shows, sadly, is that the House and Senate GOP lacks the resolve and moral authority to stand up to the onslaught of the progressive, socialist Left — and that’s because they’re progressives themselves. And yes, y’all were right: These rascals just can’t stand up and do what’s right.

We have a situation from the Las Vegas shooting that, first, is a continuing investigation. And at this time, we know that there were several weapons in the room enabled with bump stocks. But how many were actually fired in this horrific shooting? I and others have no issue with banning the further sale of this enhancement device — but what about the grandfathering of those who LEGALLY purchased said device and complied with the law … authorized by the Obama administration in 2010?

This is just another example of the government seeking to undermine a basic right of the people — namely, the right to keep and bear arms, a right that shall not be infringed. Representatives Curbelo and Moulton’s bill MUST be defeated. We don’t need a new law. What we need is to simply reverse the Obama administration decision, and that can be done by the BATF.

Congress doesn’t need to interject itself into this, based upon the whims and rantings of late-night talk show hosts and other elites who haven’t a single idea or clue about that which they speak.

As I gave witness to in my Facebook Live chat, I own several semi-automatic rifles and carbines. There’s no need to create more laws for someone like myself and the millions of law-abiding, legal gun owners in America. Nancy Pelosi recently said she wanted gun control to become a slippery slope. At the moment she said that, the Curbelo-Moulton bill should have been pulled … that’s something House GOP leadership could have done, and I hold them responsible for not doing so.

The Left always tells us who they are and what they want to implement. But we have such weak legislators in the GOP who just acquiesce, time and again — whether the issue is healthcare or tax policy. On the other hand, when they’re in control, the progressive. socialist Left doesn’t give a damn about what the GOP thinks. Then Republicans become the majority party and that word — bipartisanship — enters into the equation.

The guiding principle for the GOP should not be the necessity to enter into a happy sandbox with the Left, under the false guise of bipartisanship. It should be a resolute and principled stand for individual rights, freedoms, liberties and sovereignty.

Those weapons that the Las Vegas shooter used are just that, weapons, and inanimate objects that would still be sitting on a wall somewhere if he had not purchased them. No weapon kills anyone — an individual does — and they can choose any tool of their mad design to accomplish their heinous deed — a knife, a hammer, a car, truck, or anything else that can harm another.

I have no issue with regulating a device that can alter the function of a semi-automatic weapon, but the Curbelo-Moulton bill just represents another attempt to turn citizens into subjects.

Molon Labe!

Editor’s Note: This column previously appeared at AllenBWest.com. Used with the permission of the author.

Lt. Col. Allen B. West is the former U.S. Congressman representing Florida’s 22nd District, a Fox News Contributor, a contributing columnist for Townhall.com, the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas, and the author of Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Faith, Family and Freedom. Col. West is the third of four generations of military servicemen in his family. During his 22 year career in the United States Army, he was awarded the Bronze Star, 3 Meritorious Service Medals, 3 Army Commendation Medals (1 with Valor device), and a Valorous Unit Award. In 1993 he was named the US Army ROTC Instructor of the Year. Col. West believes it will be principled constitutional conservative policies, not politics, which will secure a sound economic future for Americans.

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Self-Educated American: “Standing Fast by our Judeo-Christian heritage, limited government, and the U.S. Constitution” since December of 2009 (formerly The Moral Liberal) in a manner which is principle-centered rather than party-centered.